the unknown pleasures of "problematic romance"

This video dives into the world of romance, a genre that is said to be made of female fantasies. Why is "problematic romance" so popular? Is it because we secretly dream of bad boys? Is there a deeper reason why this dynamic is so popular in the genre? What's the connection between shame and non-consent fantasies? We also look at why books like "Fifty Shades of Gray" are so successful despite all the critique.

Sources:

Krentz, Jayne Ann. Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.
Fuchs, Barbara. Romance. 1st edition, Routledge, 2004.
Berlant, Lauren. The Female Complaint: The Unfinished Business of Sentimentality in American Culture. Duke University Press, 2008.
Illouz, Eva. Hard-Core Romance: “Fifty Shades of Grey,” Best-Sellers, and Society. University of Chicago Press, 2014
Regis, Pamela. A Natural History of the Romance Novel. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.
Contrapoints. Twilight.    • Twilight | ContraPoints  

00:00 our tainted romantic ideals
03:00 1. what is a fantasy?
04:11 fantasy = dream come true?
05:20 fantasy and anxiety
07:10 2. romance as a battle
08:41 the world is a scary place
09:27 the hero is the villain
11:51 we wanna see them crawl
15:02 the problematic saviour complex
16:14 3. who is the villain?
19:03 our fascination with villains
19:30 WE are saved by the heroine
21:52 4. consent
23:17 dirty dirty books
24:51 do we dream of male domination?
26:03 consent is embarassing
29:32 the mind-reading lover
30:52 equality creates uncertainty
32:50 the pleasures of inequality
34:26 5. harmful media
36:52 the disdain for romance
38:24 romance is not the cause of abuse
40:13 we ARE smart enough
43:39 we'll be okay (probably)

Music by Epidemic Sound.